I am eleven years old. My mother and little brother have gone down
to Florida, so papa and myself are alone at home. A few days ago
papa and I went up on top of the Washington Monument. We did not
walk up, but rode up on the elevator. It took about five minutes
for it to reach the top. On the elevator was a large granite rock
weighing over three tons. It went up with us. We saw memorial
stones inside of the Monument sent from all parts of the world.
When we got to the top we had a very fine view. It was better than
the view from the top of the Capitol. They have a net around the
top, so if persons should fall, it would not hurt them, as the
netting would catch them. Sometimes during the noon hour the men
get out on the netting, and smoke just as if they were in a
hammock. What a terrible fall they would have if the netting should
break! It was about 240 feet high when we were up there. It was so
windy that day that you could not stand up on one side of the
Monument without holding on to something. At one time the wind
shifted, and there were some boards lying out on the net, and a man
was walking along on the side where they were. When the wind
shifted, it sent the boards flying, and every one of them came down
on the man's head, but it did not hurt him, for as soon as they
began to tumble on his head, he lay flat down on the wall, so as to
keep from being blown away. It made quite an excitement. At first
the man would halloo and laugh, and shout, "Joe, Joe, come up here;
quick! quick!"
Some men came running up from the inside of the Monument, thinking
something dreadful was the matter. We staid up there about an hour.
Papa and I walked all around the walls, which were seven feet thick
at the top and fifteen at the bottom. Then at the foot of the
Monument, in a little house, we saw many more memorial stones. One
of the best of them was one that came from Nevada, with the word
"Nevada" let into the stone in solid silver, and a motto let into
the stone in solid gold. Both the gold and silver came from the
mines of Nevada. We enjoyed the trip very much, and I thought some
of the readers of YOUNG PEOPLE might like to have a description of
it.